Float valve



Aug. 24, 1948. T. B. MEsslcK FLOAT VALVE Filed. Jan. 5, 1947 INVENTOR.TUR/YER MESSICK ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 24, i943 anni 'ijNl'iED STATE@ATENE @ENCE FLOAT VALVE Turner B. Messick, Denver, Colo., assignorof-onehalf to Jeannette D. ibaniey, Denver, Colo.

Application .i'anuary 3, 1947, Serial No. '720,133

(Ci. IS7-104) 4 illaims, l

This invention relates .to improvements .in float valves .of the typeemployed in connection with iiushing apparatus, such as toilets.

It is well known that the ordinary float valve employed in iiush tankshas the objectionable characteristic of being noisy, unless perfectlyadjusted. The `noise is due almost `entirely to the fact that theclosing of the valve is very slow, depending upon lthe gradual rising ofthe .float in accordance with the Water level. At the point Where thevalve is almost closed, noise usually begins and continues until lthewater is completely turned off.

It is the object of this invention to produce an improved flush valveconstruction in which the inlet valve remains open until the level ofthe Water reaches the desired height, after which the valve closes quitequickly, but not suddenly.

This invention, briefly described, consists in providing in the flushtank a separate compartment of a size and shape to receive the hollowiioat which is freely suspended from the valve arm. This receptacle isso positioned that the top is on the level desired and at which thevalve closes. The bottom of the receptacle is provided With an openinghaving Ia check valve that permits Water to escape through the bottom ofthe receptacle, .but prevents its entrance through the bottom.

The oat is connected with the valve arm and f since the water cannotenter the receptacle until it has reached the level of the top thereof,the valve remains fully open until such time.

It is an object 'of this invention to produce a receptacle of a specialconstruction and of such 1.

design that it can be inserted in the usual flush tank and secured tothe tank by van expanding force and which, therefore, makes it possibleto quickly insert such receptacle in .an ordinary flush tank withoutmaking it necessary to provide openings for screws or bolts.

Another object of the invention is to produce a receptacle for thepurpose indicated, that shall be provided with .a valve .that is readilyremovable and insertable and which can be quickly replaced, if Yfor anyreason, it deteriorates or becomes inoperative.

Having thus briefly described the invention and the objects thereof, theinvention will now be described in detail and for this purpose referencewill be had to the accompanying drawing in which the invention has beenillustrated in its preferred form and in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical section through a flush ytank takensubstantiallylon line l--l, Figure 2;I4

Figure 2 is a transverse section taken online 2 2, Figure 1; f

Figure 3 is a diametrical vertical section through the receptacle takenin a plane substantially perpendiculal` to that shown in Figure 1;

Figure Il is a side elevation Vof the float receptacle, looking towardsthe left in `Figure `3; and

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the receptacle looking through plane 5 5,in Figure 3.

In the drawing reference numeral Ill designates the bottom of anordinary flush tank which, for

the purpose of this description, will be considered as made fromporcelain, or from cast iron porcelainized material. Such tanks arecommonly employed in connection with all toilet fixtures and no noveltyis claimed in the tank itself, but the tank and the several elementsusually connected therewith are shown in their respective relation toeach other so as to make i-t possible to properly describe theinvention. v

Reference numeral i-I designates the water supply pipe which extends.through ran opening in the bottom and is sealed by means comprisingnuts l2 and i3. The inlet pipe extends upwardly, as indicated at 'l la,and terminates vin .a oat valve I3. Since there is nothing new in thisfloat valve, it has merely been shown in a more or less diagrammaticmanner. The `opening and closing of the float valve is effected by amovement of handle i4, which is shown in the 4drawing as .in valveclosing position. Extendingroutwardly from handle i4 is a rod Yl5 thatcarries vsuspended from its outer end a hollow oat I6. The outer end ofrod i5 is preferably threaded as indicated at ll and carries a connectorelement i8 that is threadedly connected with the rod and this, in turnis connected with the Afloat by means of va member 53 that is pivoted tomember IB at z20` Member it is free to rotate about the rod and .the oatis free Vto swing about pivot A2li and it is therefore connected withthe rod by means that permits a universal movement. Reference numeral 2ldesignates the outlet pipe and reference numeral 22 the ordinary ballvalve that is employed for closing the outletJ A rod 23 .extendsupwardly from the ball valve and is connected to the end `of rod 24 :at`point 2.5. A handle 2.6 positioned on the outside of the flush tankenables the user to manipulate parts 2.3 and24 ,so as to raise the floatfrom its .seat permitting water to escape. The float is hollow, in theusual manner, and remains suspended .in the water until the tank isempty. Reference numeral 2,1 designates an `overflow pipe that.determines the ultimate level `of Vthe liquid in the tank and preventsthe tank from overflowing in case valve I3 does not completely shut offthe water. Pipe 28 is the inlet pipe through which the water isdischarged into the tank, the water issuing in the direction of arrow29. The parts that have been described are all old in the art, but, asabove stated, have been shown and described in order to make it possibleto properly describe the construction and operation of the valve controlmeans to which this invention relates.

Float IS is positioned in a Vertical receptacle 3B that may be of anydesired cross section, but which is preferably cylindrical. The lowerend of the cylindrical portion 33 is closed by a bottom member that hasbeen designated by reference numeral 3l, which has an upwardly extendingcircular flange 32 which surrounds an opening 33, preferably positionedat the center point of the bottom. Opening 33 is somewhat smaller thanthe inside diameter of the compartment formed by flange 32, leaving anarrow ledge 34 all around the opening. The ow of water through opening33 is controlled by means of a valve member made from some flexibleresilient material such as natural, or so-called, synthetic rubber. Thevalve member is constructed in a manner which will be hereinafterdescribed so that it can be readily inserted in and removed from theopening.

The bottom 3I is provided on one side with two feet 35 that preferablyterminate in rubber caps 36 and the other side of bottom 3l has a radialopening that is threaded for the reception of a screw 31. The head ofthis screw terminates in a rubber cap 38. JThe distance between theouter surface of caps 36 and cap 38 is slightly less than the distancebetween the inner surface of the ush tank wall. When the receptacle isto be inserted in and secured to a flush tank, screw 31 is first turnedinwardly to a position substantially like that shown in Figure 5, afterwhich the receptacle is inserted and positioned as to height and as todistance away from inlet pipe IIa. Screw 31 is now turned so as to moveit outwardly into the position shown in Figure 2 and is then tightenedsufficiently to force the rubber caps 36 and 38 against the innersurface of the flush tank wall with suiicient force to frictionally holdthe receptacle in adjusted position. The part I8 is adjusted along thethreaded section I'I so that float I6 will normally be concentric withthe inner wall of the receptacle as shown in Figure 1.

Let us now assume that the parts are arranged in the manner shown in thedrawings and described herein, and that pipe il is connected with the,water supply system and discharge pipe 2l with a toilet fixture. Whenthe parts are in the position shown by full lines in Figure 1, valve I3is open, permitting water to ow into the tank in the direction of arrow29. Ball valve 22 being seated in the valve opening prevents water fromescaping through the outlet pipe and it therefore accumulates in thetank, rising gradually. Valve member 38 is preferably made from materialthat has a specic gravity less than one and as the water levelincreases, the lower end of the valve Vwill move upwardly and closeopening 33 against the entrance of water. The water that flows inwardlythrough opening 33 at the beginning also has a tendency to seat thevalve. After the valve has been seated, no more water enters thereceptacle until it reaches `the level indicated by a broken line anddesignated by reference numeral 30. During all this time the float hasremained in full line position, but as soon as the water level reaches apoint above the upper edge of the receptacle, it will begin to flow intothe receptacle and accumulate therein. As the water accumulates in thereceptacle and the level of the water rises, it carries with it thefloat until iinally the latter reaches the broken line position, inwhich position valve I3 is closed.

Attention is called to the fact that the water level in the receptacleincreases very rapidly compared to the rate at which the water levelincreased inthe flush tank because the cross sectional area of thereceptacle is small and this is further decreased by the displacement ofthe float. After the water has reached the level of the receptacle, thefloat rises quite quickly and the valve, instead of being closed by aslow gradual motion that produces wire drawing and results in noise,closes comparatively quickly so as to reduce any noise that mightotherwise be produced, and if, for any reason, valve I3 is noisy, thiswould persist only for a very short time.

With thewater at the level of broken line 48, let us now assume thathandle 26 is operated, raising ball 22 from its seat. This permits thewater to escape quite rapidly and since valve 39 has its upper endformed by radially extending fingers like those designated by referencenumeral 4I, the water level in the receptacle will remain the same asthe water level outside until the tank has been completely emptied atwhich time ball valve 22 seats and the filling starts beginning anothercycle.

I am aware that flush valves have been made that operate on a principlesomewhat similar to the one above and illustrated in the drawing. Suchvalve operating and control mechanisms, however, have been soconstructed and designed that they would either have to be built intothe tank at the factory, or applied by means of screws and/or bolts,which often results in leaks.

The invention above described and which relates primarily to thereceptacle and the manner in which it is secured in place, is of suchconstruction that it can be easily positioned in an ordinary flush tankand does not require any holes to be drilled, and in addition to this,it is so constructed that it does not injure or damage the inner surfaceof the tank.

Due to the three point support afforded by caps 36 and 38, thereceptacle will be held rigidly in place after it has been onceinstalled. To prevent screw 31 from accidentally becoming loose; a setscrew 42 has been provided as shown in Figure-3.

By means of the receptacle and the construction shown in thisapplication, it is possible to convert an ordinary flush tank to asilently operating tank by merely furnishing a new arm I5 and member I8together with the receptacle, the other parts, such as valve I3, may beof any usual construction.

Having described the invention what is claimed aS DEW 1S:

l. In a flush box having a water inlet and outlet pipe, in connectiontherewith and a valve in the inlet pipe, control means for the inletvalve comprising an arm having a oat suspended therefrom near its outerend and a receptacle into which the oat projects, said receptacle havinga base provided with an opening communicating the interior of thereceptacle and the tank, 'a check valve in the opening permitting liquidto iiow from the receptacle into the tank, and

means for frictionally securing the receptacle to the tank comprisingwall engaging lugs projecting in opposite directions, and means forurging the projections against the opposite surfaces of the tank wall tosecure the receptacle in position therein.

2. A receptacle for use in converting a iiush tank of ordinaryconstruction into a silently operating one, comprising a receptaclehaving a base provided with an opening, an outwardly opening check valvecontrolling the iiow of water therethrough, the base having one sideprovided with two spaced lugs, one on each side of a verticaldiametrical plane of the receptacle, for engaging one side of the flushtank, and means on the other side of the base for frictionally engagingthe opposite surface of the tank and exerting a force urging the lugsagainst the sides of the tank whereby the receptacle may be clamped tothe tank in any desired position.

3. A receptacle for use in a flush tank, comprising a base having acontrol opening surrounded by an upwardly projecting rib, there being aledge between the opening and the rib for the support of a valve, avalve of flexible resilient material positioned in the opening, thevalve comprising a control stem adapted to be positioned in the opening,the lower end of the stem having a flange of a, diameter greater thanthe opening, for closing the same, the upper end of the stem havingspaced radial iingers that may be bent for insertion in the opening andWhich project over the ledge to support the valve in open position, thebase having two lugs extending outwardly therefrom, one on each side ofa vertical plane passing through the axis of the receptacle, the lugsbeing positioned to engage the inside of a iiush tank, the base having aradial threaded opening whose axis lies in the plane, the end of thescrew having a head adapted to engage the surface of the other side ofthe tank, to force the lugs against opposed surfaces of the tank, tosecure the receptacle therein by friction alone.

l. A receptacle for use in a flush tank comprising an elongated tubularmember having a base closing one end thereof, the base having a centralopening surrounded by an upwardly extending iiange whose inner surfaceis spaced from the edge of the opening to form a ledge, a valve memberhaving a stem extending through the opening, the lower end of the stemhaving an outwardly extending ange of greater diameter than the opening,the upper end of the valve member having radial lingers projecting ontothe ledge for supporting the Valve member, and means carried by the basefor engaging the opposite inside wall surfaces of a flush tank toirictionally secure the receptacle to the tank.

TURNER B. MESSICK.

UNITED STATES PATENTS The following references are of record in the iileof this patent:

REFERENCES CXTED Number Name Date `393,070 Hughes Nov. 20, 18881,037,679 Snyder Sept. 3, 1912 1,084,267 Gleeson Jan. 13, 1914Disclaimer 2,447,59L`Tumer B Messiclc, Denver, C010. FLOAT VALVE. P

24, 1948. Dlsclaimer filed July 17, 1950, ,iby the inventor Herebyenters this disclaimer to claim 1 of said patent.

[Oficial Gazette August 15, 1.950.]

atenta dated Aug-

